How do I highway merge when my 2015 Prius C takes 11-12 seconds to even get to 50 mph?

welcome!
are you flooring it in power mode?

 

I don't think The Prius c has a formal "Power Mode".
It does however have an ECO mode. Make sure you are NOT in it, if acceleration is your goal.

The Prius c, is a small hybrid vehicle. It's NOT going to win any acceleration races. The most I can say, is if you aren't comfortable with it's capabilities maybe it isn't the vehicle for you.

If you are coming from a SUV, and this is your first Hybrid, and/or maybe the first small vehicle you've owned...or owned in a while? I might not give up in just a day.

If you absolutely can not be comfortable or feel safe?
Then you have no choice but to move on .

 

Welcome to the community! I don't even have a prius anymore.. But this community is so good I'm on here everyday!

That seems very slow even for the little Prius c. Did you test drive this or any other Prius before the purchase?

 

I think my old School Bus took a lot longer than that to get to 55mph but I drove it on the highway everyday. You merge by knowing your vehicle and undertaking patience and planning ahead. A good drive deals with why he or she is driving.

 

Move to a different geography with a less aggressive combat driving culture?

That helps explain it. You didn't spend decades driving 1980's econocars, back when this performance counted as fast!

 

To the OP I doubt you got a lemon. If this is only your second vehicle ever, and you are use to a SUV, it's just adapting to the reality.

I now own a Honda Fit, and it's a 4 cylinder engine, and I rarely power my way into a merge. All I can say, is that while The Prius c, isn't an acceleration leader, arguably on the lower end of 0-60 speeds, you are also not alone. Many small cars have similar 0-60 times. I've driven alongside "Smart Cars" on the highway, and can only imagine the fun they had merging.

Hybrids, Prius, are built for efficiency, not neck snapping acceleration. Merging becomes more of a challenge.

But the thing you can pass a whole lot easier and more often is the gas station.

But again, really, I would say to anyone, if you aren't comfortable or don't feel confident driving a vehicle,- sometimes that is enough to warrant change. IMO when driving, if you don't feel safe, you aren't safe.

PS.
Retrospectively, whenever I test drive a vehicle, I always insist on taking onto the freeway. I want to see how quickly I can merge, whether I feel comfortable with that, and also how it handles at cruising freeway speeds.

 

Welcome!
The Prius c is primarily designed as a lower cost city commuter vehicle. Many people here use the Prius c for highway commuting though.
The Prius Liftback & larger Prius v (dicsontinued?) are designed to better handle highway commuting.

BTW, with the web interface, to "Like" a post, just click the "Like" button at the end of the post.

 

Not saying you're guilty, but I've seen people in fast cars that can't merge, knowing how is more important than HP most of the time.

 

I have a Yaris hybrid with similar powertrain and performance as Prius C. The car I changed from was a 520d BMW auyomatic which accelerated from 0-62 mph in about 8 seconds. The Yaris does the same in 12+ seconds. It is considerably slower when floored but I haven't had any trouble merging compared to the BMW.

What I'm trying to say is that if you want a more powerful car then go ahead and buy one, but if you only have trouble merging I suggest you try to develop an eye for merging.

The Yaris is my 9th car so expirience might be a helping factor too. First hybrid though.

 

i enter the highway slowly, and rely on people in the right lane to do the right thing. i noticed in cali that the drivers are a bit more aggressive than here, but they managed not to rear end me while i was there.

 

You coming out this way soon to relive that experience ?

 

Could never wrap my head around that thinking, it's not the obligation of the highway traffic to yield to merging traffic. It is a nice gesture when someone moves over if the other lane is clear, but to halt the flow of traffic because someone doesn't know what merge means is dangerous.